Kokborok Cinema

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Kokborok Cinema
A glimpse of the Kokborok Cinema Production.jpg
A glimpse of Kokborok film production in Tripura
No. of screens 2
Main distributorsSSR Cinemas Pvt. Ltd. [1]
Shine Film Production
King Films Production

Kokborok Cinema refers to the Kokborok language film industry in Tripura, India and among the Tripuri people. Tripura's Kokborok film industry began in 1986 with Longtharai (1986) directed by Dipak Bhattacharya [2] adapted from Bimal Sinha's novel Karachi theke Longtharai [3] depicting the struggle-ridden life of jhum cultivators in the rural hills of Longtharai followed by the Kokborok film Langmani Haduk (1993) directed by Ruhi Debbarma can be read as a critique of the modern regime. [2] The Kokborok film Mathia (2004) directed by Joseph Pulinthanath, is the first International Award-winning Kokborok film. [4]

Contents

History

The first Indian woman to practise photography in India; Manmohini Devi Maharaja Birchandra with Maharani Manamohini.jpg
The first Indian woman to practise photography in India; Manmohini Devi

Before it became a recognised form of artistic expression, cinema already existed in Tripura. Its predecessors, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, dance, theatre, acrobatics, textiles, and photography, all contributed to the development of cinema. The relationship between film and the visual arts has existed for a very long time and is very complex. The birth of Tripura's modern era was thus heralded by Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–96), a master painter, photographer, composer, scholar of Vaishnava literature, and patron of all artistic endeavours. [5] About one and a half centuries of the royal family's rule saw the continuation of the core musical interests and practises. More so than art or architecture, the Manikya kings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were fascinated by literature and music. Upon the death of Maharaja Birendra Kishore in 1928, Maharaja Bir Bikram, who had a passionate interest in theatre and other forms of art and culture, took over as ruler of the realm. Just like his father, Maharaja Birendra Kishore, he was a genius in playing the sitar and esraj. Ustad Munne Khan, Enayat Khan, Muzaffar Khan, Masid Mia, Adam Box, and Ustad Allauddin Khan are among a few well-known artists who have performed in Tripura. Prince Nabadwip Chandra, the father of Sachin Debbarman, who was a well-known music director in the nation, was particularly talented in the musical arts. The first Indian woman to practise photography was Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini, Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya's third consort. She arranged her self-portraits with the Maharaja to portray herself as a contemporary royal photographer. She received training as a royal photographer under her husband's supervision, and she organised photographic exhibitions in the palace where the Maharaja presented self-portraits of both himself and his wife Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini. The May 1890 issue of The Journal of the Photographic Society of India focused on the portraits of the Camera Club of the Palace of Agartala. [6] [7] [8] [9] The relationship between Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore and four generations of Tripuri kings is another important incident in the history of the princely state of Tripura. Understandably, this resulted from Maharaja Ratna Manikya's liberal support of Bengali language and culture by the Manikya dynasty rulers of Tripura (1464–68). In his first letter to Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896), dated May 6, 1886, Rabindranath Tagore made reference to this familial relationship while searching for historical details about Tripura to draw inspiration for his celebrated book "Rajarshi."

Notable films: 1993–2022

This section covers notable Kokborok feature films released between 1993 and 2022. Notable films, in this context, include those films which have participated or won awards in national and international film festivals, and the films which have made history (for example, first full-length film, first filmmaker, first color film, longest movie). [3]

Year of releaseFilmNotesDirector
1986 Longtharai First Kokborok Feature Film of TripuraDipak Bhattacharya
1993 Langmani Haduk Kokborok Feature Film of TripuraRuhi Debbarma
2004 Mathia A 2004 Indian Kokborok-language full-length feature film. Awarded as best feature film in the international film festival held in Warsaw 2003.Joseph Pulinthanath
2008 Yarwng First Kokborok film to win best feature film award at 56th National Film Awards, awarded by the ex-Indian president Pratibha Patil.Joseph Pulinthanath

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agartala</span> Capital city of Tripura, India

Agartala is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora/Saidra River, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the border with Bangladesh and about 2,499 km (1,552 mi) from the national capital, New Delhi. According to 2022 AMC data, Agartala is the third most populous city after Guwahati and Imphal in Northeast India. It is India's third international internet gateway and being developed under the Smart Cities Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokborok</span> Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India and Bangladesh

Kokborok is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripuri people</span> Ethnic group of North-East India and Bangladesh

The Tripuri are a Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnic group of Northeast Indian state of Tripura. They are the descendants of the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through the Manikya dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Tripura for ~450 years until the kingdom joined the Indian Union on 15 October 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokborok literature</span>

Kokborok (Tiprakok/Tripuri) is the native language of Tripuri people in present Tripura state in Northeast of India. During the 20th century many of Royal family and its officials contributes to develop the Kokborok language in many ways.

Drama was brought into the Kokborok-speaking population by the Yatra (Jatra) performers of Bengal. The rulers of Independent Tripura were the first to present and perform drama in Tripura. Though in the beginning the presentations of yatras (jatras) were limited to the Royal Compound, in course of time it came out of the royal compound and mass people also began to enjoy it and join it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbarma</span> Family name

Debbarma is the main clan of Tripuri community, predominantly in state of Tripura, India and Bangladesh who speak Kokborok, a Tibeto-Burman language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manikya dynasty</span> Indian ruling house of Tripura (c. 1400–1949)

The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north-east of the Indian subcontinent. After coming under British influence, in 1761 they transitioned from feudal monarchs into rulers of a princely state, though the Manikyas maintain control of the region until 1949, when it ascended in union with India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bir Bikram Manikya Debbarma</span> Maharaja

Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarma Bahadur was a king of Tripura State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma</span> Indian politician (born 1978)

Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma is the current titular King (Maharaja) and statesman from Tripura. He was born in New Delhi, and now resides in Agartala, Tripura. He also served as the editor of TNT-The Northeast Today. He is the current chairman of The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance also known as TIPRA Motha. He is known as 'Bubagra' among his people and is one of the active voices for the rights of Indigenous Tripuri people of Tripura.

Mahamanyabar Rajkumar Srila-Srijukta Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman, also transliterated as Nabadwip Chandra Deb Barman, was a noted Indian sitarist and Dhrupad singer. He was the father of composer S. D. Burman and grandfather of another composer R. D. Burman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birendra Kishore Manikya</span> Maharaja

Birendra Kishore Manikya Debbarma Bahadur ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Tripura on 25 November 1909, at the age of 26.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radha Kishore Manikya</span> Maharaja

Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya of the Manikya Dynasty reigned as the king of Tripura State from 1897 to 1909. He has been described as one of the architects of modern Tripura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bir Chandra Manikya</span> King of Tripura

Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur of the Manikya Dynasty was the king of Tripura from 1862 to 1896.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripura (princely state)</span> State of British India

Tripura State, also known as Hill Tipperah, was a princely state in India during the period of the British Raj and for some two years after the departure of the British. Its rulers belonged to the Manikya dynasty and until August 1947 the state was in a subsidiary alliance, from which it was released by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The state acceded to the newly independent Indian Union on 13 August 1947, and subsequently merged into the Indian Union in October 1949.

Mathia is a 2004 Indian Kokborok-language full-length feature film. It is written and directed by Joseph Pulinthanath and stars Meena Debbarma, Jayanta Jamatia and Amulya Jamaita.

Amar Manikya was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1577 to 1586.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manmohini Devi</span> Third Maharani consort of Tripura

Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini Devi was the third Maharani consort of Tripura through her marriage to Maharaja Birchandra Manikya. She was a contemporary royal photographer who choreographed her self-portraits with the Maharaja and was considered the first Indian woman who mastered the art of photography.

Langmani Haduk is a 1993 Tripuri feature film in Kokborok language directed by Ruhi Debbarma that portrayed patriarchal norms through what may be referred to as "feudal familial romance." It took inspiration from the well-established social/family melodramas of Hindi cinema.

Longtharai is a 1986 first Kokborok film directed by Dipak Bhattacharya, adapted from Tripura’s former Health and Urban Development Minister and CPIM leader Bimal Sinha’s novel "Karachi theke Longtharai".

References

  1. ↑ "SSR Cinemas PVT. Ltd".
  2. 1 2 Deb Barma, Aloy (1 January 2022). "Reading contemporary Kokborok and Bengali films and videos in Tripura: History, Technology and Infrastructure". ResearchGate .
  3. 1 2 Deb Barma, Aloy; Debroy, Prajapita (2022). CINEMA AS ART & POPULAR CULTURE IN TRIPURA: An Introduction. Tripura: Tribal Research and Cultural Institute. ISBN   978-81-958995-0-0. OL   44969662M.
  4. ↑ "Mathia becomes first Kokborok film to bag International Award". Zee News. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Barma & Debroy, 14
  6. ↑ Barma & Debroy, 15
  7. ↑ Singha, Memchaton (31 August 2014). "Matrimonial Alliances between the Royal Houses of Tripura and Manipur in the Days of Monarchy". International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies. Rochester, NY. SSRN   2489572.
  8. ↑ Kumar, K. G. Pramod; G, Pramod Kumar K. (2012). Posing for Posterity: Royal Indian Portraits. Lustre Press. ISBN   978-81-7436-878-2.
  9. ↑ Sengupta, Debjani (Spring 2014). "Zenana Studio: Early Women Photographers of Bengal, from Taking Pictures: The Practice of Photography by Bengalis, by Siddhartha Ghosh". The Trans-Asia Photography Review. 4 (2). doi: 10.1215/215820251_4-2-202 . hdl:2027/spo.7977573.0004.202. ISSN   2158-2025.
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